A Mother's Love
by Green-Silver-Darkness
Summary: Lyla's world takes a turn when she finds herself pregnant with Piper. Will she be able to achieve her dreams while being a single parent? Life's not easy, particularly when she finds herself drawn to another little boy in the NICU, and his dangerously sexy father. Sparks fly for this instant family but trouble is soon to follow.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. So I am starting a new story! Honestly, I keep having this reoccurring dream where Lyla and Jax are together instead of Tara and Jax. I think this is so babycentric because my hubs keeps asking me when we are going to have another baby...so I'm using the baby pressure in a creative way.**

**As always, I of course don't own S.O.A. and take no credit for the characters depicted in this story. Enjoy! **

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When the pains had become closer together and her bags were loaded into the car, Lyla had driven herself to the hospital. She had taken her time, after all she knew what she was supposed to be doing.

Lyla had just finished her third year of nursing school, the last of her finals all wrapped up two weeks ago. She decided she wanted to go into labor and delivery or neonatal and her final year was supposed to be spent taking classes in that field. Part of the reason she had moved to Charming was to build relationships at St. Thomas in hopes of potentially lining up a job after graduation. Who knew if that was ever going to happen now?

While St. Thomas was a smaller regional hospital it was well respected. She was hoping to finish her degree and get a position on their maternity floor where she could split her time between labor and delivery and neonatal. Her adviser had thought it was a perfect plan... then at least.

Last August, Lyla had gone out to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was the last weekend before the new semester started and she decided to let loose. She had drank too much on her own, been convinced to do some celebratory shots, and before she knew it, she was practically dry humping a tall and handsome stranger on the dance floor. At the time she'd thought she would never be this young and pretty again so why not live spontaneously. Which is exactly how she'd ended up pregnant after a mediocre one night stand with a nameless person whom she had no way to contact.

Everyone around her could barely believe she decided to go ahead and have the baby. To be honest, Lyla was kind of surprised she'd decided on it too. She definitely didn't have any good role models for what parents should be. She had come from a bad childhood, with two drug addict parents and a drug addict older sister. She'd been on free and reduced lunch all the way through school and the only reason she had made it out of the God forsaken trailer she grew up in was because of her freshman biology teacher.

By the time Lyla and gotten boobs she was already the "pretty girl" and because of where and how she grew up most people had assumed she'd never amount to anything more than a porn star...not that there was anything wrong with being a porn star, it wasn't far off from what she did to put herself through nursing school. She was determined to make something more for herself though. She said a silent thank you every morning to her high school biology teacher Mrs. Conwell for pointing her in the right direction. Mrs. Conwell had been the one to figure out Lyla was awesome at science, and to recognize that because of her upbringing she had the wherewithal to critically think in stressful situations. So Mrs. Conwell had introduced Lyla to a nurse in their hometown and the rest was history.

'Thank God for nurses' she thought as she watched one yell at an attending about admitting her early.

They didn't technically admit laboring women until they were 4 cm dilated and even though Lyla's contractions were an even 5-6 minutes apart she was still only at 2 cm. The nurse had loudly argued that because "she was all alone" and had "driven herself here while in considerable pain" she should be allowed to check in early. The doctor had finally caved and she had moved through check in and been settled into her labor suite pretty quickly.

Luckily because St. Thomas was pretty small there weren't many women giving birth all at the same time, in fact Lyla was the only one in labor on the floor that day. This meant she had totally unrestricted access to the one wireless fetal heart rate monitor St. Thomas had and she was able to walk around the entire maternity floor instead of being confined to her room. By the time they had her all hooked up and ready to go she had dilated to 4 cm and her contractions were about 4 minutes apart.

"You're now officially in active labor!" her nurse Melody had said with a smile. "You're still sure you want to do this unmedicated?" Lyla had nodded emphatically.

She had decided to not get an epidural partly because she wanted to actually know what it felt like when she would help other expectant mothers through the same thing, and partly because she felt like it was kind of the pinnacle of a woman's strength and that challenge intrigued her.

"Alrighty then, let's get you up and walking. Let gravity do its work. You can walk anywhere on this floor but only this floor. I will check in with you when your contractions have gotten a tad closer together or you call for me, whichever comes first."

She had been more than ready to get moving and before she knew it, she had done a dozen circuits around the labor wing. A change of scenery had been necessary at that point, so she turned towards the recovery hallway that housed the nursery and the NICU. That's where she saw him for the first time.

He was standing stone still at the end of the hallway gazing into the NICU like the world had settled on his shoulders. Honestly, if Lyla hadn't been 9 months pregnant, and she'd met him anywhere that didn't ooze 'this man isn't available' she would have flirted with him blatantly. He was HOT!

This definitely wasn't the time for her hormones to get out of control around a hot stranger though, so she tried to look at him objectively and what she saw was more devastating really. She hadn't wanted to interrupt, so she had turned and done another lap of the recovery hallway. When she returned he was still there though, same expression on his face. She wasn't sure what made her do it, but she drifted closer to him. Something in her had wanted him to feel better.

"St. Thomas has an absolutely wonderful NICU. They have a very good reputation from the research I've done." She'd said gently as she stepped up next to him.

There were two babies in the NICU and they both looked so very small to her. He half turned towards her as she gazed into the unit now.

"Yeah, they have been great so far. Doesn't change how fuckin' shitty the whole situation is though."

He sounded exhausted and stressed, which both seemed like normal feelings for someone sitting outside the NICU. She wished there was something she could do to make him feel better. The most important thing Lyla had learned from the nurse back home who mentored her, was that sometimes people needed to be reminded of what they were fighting for in order to really fight the best they could.

"Which one is yours?" She asked with a smile.

"Abel." he'd said as he pointed towards the smaller of the two newborns.

"Tell me about Abel." She asked as she turned towards him now, still keeping her eyes on the baby.

He'd paused then and looked at her. She could feel him studying her profile and taking stock of her very large belly. He must of thought she was just being polite as an expectant new mom so he began to tell her about his son.

"He was born 10 weeks premature and we've been in the NICU for almost 5 weeks. Our family has a congenital heart defect that crops up every now and then, and it did with Abel. They just fixed that last week. Unfortunately, he was also born with some complications due to my ex wife. They had to wait to fix his heart because he was also born with a deformed stomach. Now they are trying to get him strong and eating on his own. He has to gain more weight before he can come home plus they want to monitor his recovery from heart surgery a little longer."

"I'm sorry. 10 weeks is definitely on the early side. Was it preeclampsia or a placental abruption? Those are the most common issues around that stage."

"Nope... just a mom who decided doing crank was a better idea than fully baking her kid." he remarked bitterly.

She had gasped audibly then and he thought it was from the surprise of what he'd revealed. When she didn't comment further though, he glanced over at her and realized she had hunched forward and grabbed the window sill with one hand while the other held her lower belly. She looked like she was in terrible pain. But then as if nothing had happened she straightened and began rubbing her belly back and forth while her breathing regulated.

"Sorry, that was a bad one." She whispered as she looked up at him. It had been the first time they'd really made eye contact, and he'd immediately felt the strangest sense of right all in that moment.

Lyla knew what a bad mom was like. She knew intimately what drugs did to a person and how truly horrible those situations got when children were involved. It was why she had run as soon as she graduated high school and had never looked back. More so than ever, on the verge of her son's birth, she couldn't fathom how a mother could make those choices

"I hope you don't take this in any way offensively, but I hope there is a special place in hell for people like your ex wife." She'd said as her voice wavered.

'Stupid hormones!' She'd thought before swiping at her eyes. He'd given her a moment, being unsure of how to continue their conversation after something so heavy.

"Sorry, I'm all over the place right now." She'd excused gesturing towards her belly. "Have you gotten to hold him yet?" She nodded towards Abel as she looked him in the eye again.

He nodded and watched as her whole face lit up as she smiled at him.

"Yeah, he is finally strong enough that I was able to start holding him two days ago. It still blows my mind how tiny he is. They are still feeding him with the the tubes too, they are trying to get him interested in the bottle but they've been having some trouble with that. They say any day now though... It's one of the steps before he can go home. It's supposedly going to help him gain weight quicker if he starts trying to eat on his own."

She nodded at that, it had made sense in her mind. "Definitely, babies tend to eat when they want any type of comfort not just when they are hungry. That's why hospitals try and promote breastfeeding so much in the beginning. It helps the bonding process but it also is comforting to a baby." She rambled on, before catching herself and looking over to him sheepishly.

"I'm a third year nursing student, these things tend to get me excited. Please stop me if I'm becoming unbearable!" He'd chuckled at that. He hadn't even thought twice about her speaking so emphatically, he'd just been taking in everything she'd had to say like it was fact. It had sounded like fact. Real moms seemed to know their shit and even though she didn't have a baby in her arms yet he could tell she was a mom.

"Think about it this way, you're a little helpless baby and all you've ever known has been dark, and warm, and snug. All you've ever heard is the constant rhythmic beat of your mother's heart, and the soft whooshing of her blood. Then you are thrust into the brightest, coldest, wide open space, where there are no rhythmic noises but instead utter audible chaos!" She'd become so animated, speaking with her whole body but especially her hands that he could tell she hadn't realized she'd moved further away from the window sill. So when another contraction hit and she hunched and grabbed for the window again, he knew she was going to miss it and pitch forward. His arm had shot out like lightning and she'd gripped onto his forearm instead.

That one hadn't lasted as long as the one before and she hadn't even gripped him that hard. He could tell she'd focused most of the pain through even steady breaths that hissed through her teeth. Just like the time before she had straightened and continued on as though nothing had happened.

"That's why skin to skin is so important! It's important for all babies really, but especially for babies like Abel, who probably isn't able to regulate himself well if at all right now. It helps with bonding and it would definitely be comforting for him. Have you done it yet, skin to skin?" She'd looked at him with this childlike wonder in her eyes as she'd asked.

He'd had no idea what she'd been talking about so he'd just shook his head.

"Do you want me to show you how?" She'd whispered softly as she reached for his hand still resting on the window sill. He hadn't had words for the emotions he'd felt in that moment. They were too overwhelming to even really think about so he had just wordlessly nodded at her again. When she'd smiled again it had been even brighter than the first time around. He swore she could have lit a dark room with the joy she seemed to project.

He'd closed his hand around hers and pulled her through the door to his right. There she had meticulously washed her hands up to her elbows while he did the same next to her. She led them the rest of the way through the room, motioning to the nurse checking over the other preemie.

"We'd like to do some skin to skin with Abel. Is it alright for us to hold him tonight?" She asked.

The nurse had come over to assist them with unhooking any wires Abel didn't absolutely need to make holding him easier. He was only left with two small wires both of which had long leads to their machines. "You remember how to take him out without pulling on the wires right?" The nurse had turned towards him to ask. He just nodded again and the nurse stepped back towards the preemie she had been checking over.

Lyla had stepped forward then. "Okay I'm going to sit and have you hand him to me." She explained while settling herself in the rocking chair next to his incubator. He turned towards his son and began gathering the two wires with one hand so he wouldn't pull them. By the time he had gathered Abel and turned back towards her she had unsnapped 3 of the 5 snaps on the right shoulder of her hospital gown.

His breath caught as he'd looked at her then, while she reached out for his son. She was beautiful, glowing almost. She'd pulled her long blonde hair over her left shoulder so all the skin of her shoulder and upper chest on the right side was bare. The only thing he thought of when he looked at her was that she looked like love. He handed Abel to her quickly to prevent himself from staring, but immediately realized she looked even more beautiful with his son in her arms.

"Okay, so you want to rest his head right here, right over your heart. Like we talked about, that noise is very comforting for him, so you want to put him right where he can hear the best." She explained as she cradled him against her chest. She began untucking her gown from under him so his whole body was flush against her chest.

"Then you want to keep that heat in on both sides, so you want to cradle his neck with the top of your hand and cover the whole rest of his back with your lower hand." She looked up at him to make sure he was following her. He was watching her avidly so she continued with her explanation.

"Then you want to shield him from the cold air so you cover everything with his blanket just making sure his head is turned to the side and isn't covered so he can get enough air." She finished her explanation never taking her eyes off Abel. She slowly began rocking back and forth while she stared at him.

"He's beautiful…" She whispered more to herself than him.

"Darlin' he ain't the only one…" He blurted out before he even realized he was doing it. She blushed and laughed like it was the last thing she'd believe. He felt such an extreme amount of envy for whoever got to call her and her coming baby theirs. It was so easy for him to pretend this was his, a caring, loving, beautiful woman that belonged to him, holding a tiny piece of himself while she was round with another baby.

"I'm Lyla, by the way. I suppose we kind of skipped that part." She smiled up at him as she continued to rock Abel.

"I'm Jackson." He replied as he knelt down closer to her and his son.

She moved the blanket further away from his face to show him how peaceful Abel looked while he slept there on her. It was as close to a perfect moment as he could ever remember. However, all too soon it was interrupted by a nurse coming in and over to them.

"There you are Ms. Dvorak. I've been looking everywhere for you. I think it's time to go ahead and get situated in your room. Our monitors are showing your contractions are about 2 minutes apart now."

She nodded with a slight grimace.

"Well Jackson, I really appreciate you letting me love on your little one. I would recommend wearing a button down from now on when you come to visit. Much easier to unbutton than to strip everything off." She motioned to his kutte and baggy gray hoodie.

"Well for now Darlin' you'll have to settle for the show." he chuckled as he took off his kutte and draped it over a nearby chair, before stripping out of his oversized gray hoodie, and then peeling off his white tee.

'Damn he's hot' she thought as her eyes roamed over his naked chest and abs. 'Too bad I look like a legitimate beached whale right now!'

"Come over here and grab Abel's wires while I get up and then I will put him on you." She motioned him over completely ignoring his partial nudity. He smirked at her then, realizing she was trying to change the subject so she wouldn't be embarrassed.

He gently took Abel's wires out of her left hand giving her enough slack to stand without them pulling on the tiny boy. She heaved herself out of the rocker with one hand, keeping the tiny baby completely still and undisturbed with the other. Jackson took a seat once she had moved over slightly.

"Okay lean back just a little... Perfect." She directed him to where she wanted him and then unhooked Abel's blanket from her right shoulder and let it drop into his lap. She pulled away the top of her hospital gown to reveal his son and all of her thin shoulder. As soon as the air hit Abel he started moving around uncomfortably.

"See he liked how warm it was!" She explained as she quickly transferred Abel onto his chest right over his heart. His hands brushed over hers as he took over cradling the back of Abel's head and back. She stood and snapped the top snap of her gown before leaning back over so he wouldn't get an eyeful of her very generous pregnancy boobs. She picked up Abel's blanket and wrapped it around his shoulder and over Abel, her hands lingering on top of the one he was holding his son with.

"Well, I think I've got to go." She said as she winced again. They were definitely getting closer together he realized. "I've got a date to meet the love of my life and I don't want to be late." She whispered as she winked at him and stood straight again. The nurse came forward again and offered Lyla her arm as if to help guide her back to where they needed to go. He noticed her clutch the nurse much tighter than she had grabbed him almost an hour ago as they stood at the window.

"You're gonna be alright, right Darlin'?" he asked as she turned to go. Something about her walking away, especially in that kind of pain really didn't sit well with him.

"Oh don't you worry Jackson, I'm gonna be better than alright. I bet by tomorrow morning I will look back at this as the best night of my life." She chuckled as the nurse eased them out of the room.

As the door clicked behind them he swore he felt the room get colder. Like Lyla had been the sun that he and his boy and moved around even just for an hour, and without her there just wasn't as much warmth or light.

"We're gonna be okay buddy. I've got you." He whispered down at Abel.

In that moment Jax realized why Lyla had really been so excited when describing 'skin on skin'. It was because as he looked down at this tiny baby, safe and warm, resting on his chest, he understood what it felt like to have your heart exist outside your body. He'd never felt so bonded to his son, and now that he knew she'd helped him feel that, he envied the son of bitch that got to call her his even more.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N. I couldn't wait...I have been too preoccupied with daydreaming about this story to actually focus in my real life so I just had to get it out. Hope you guys like. I'm definitely excited about where this is going to go. **

**Of course S.O.A. isn't mine it all belongs to Kurt Sutter. **

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Jackson Teller hated what his life was turning into. There were days he wished he'd taken Tara up on her offer to run away 10 years ago, leave everything in Charming behind. The last year had seemed like one fucking disaster after another. He'd done things for the club that made him sick to his stomach, so awful that he sometimes didn't recognize who he was anymore. Then life on the outside would sneak up on him and he'd long for the open road and the simplicity of being an outlaw. It was almost unbearable, constantly feeling pulled in two shitty directions not knowing which one was worse.

The club was on a downward spiral of chaos. With their stash house being blown to shit, bodies cropping up everywhere, ATF involvement and the cash flow issue with the Irish, SAMCRO could barely keep their heads above water. Everything got even harder when he and Clay weren't seeing eye to eye, which seemed to be happening more these days. Those issues alone could have sent him to an early grave from the stress but they didn't even include the shit he was dealing with at home.

Wendy had been a mistake from the jump. She'd been a junkie croweater that had given him a good ride but had been drama even before he'd put his crow on her, why he thought she would be a good ol' lady was a fucking mystery. The last year, with their divorce and her pregnancy, had been hell. A hell that all culminated in something even worse concerning his son. Jesus Christ, Abel still barely weighed 4 lbs and hadn't even started eating on his own. Thankfully, she'd signed over custody of Abel to him and now he was preparing to be a single dad to a kid with medical needs.

Tara wasn't much better though. In the month she'd been back she had somehow forced her way back into his life. For some reason he felt obligated to help her even though she'd bailed on him when shit got tough a decade ago. She'd brought with her a shit load of baggage and a crazy ex, who was probably gunning for him now that he'd sliced into his cage and told him to get the fuck outta town.

Most days Jax felt like he was a breath away from dead exhaustion. All he ever did was give to everyone and everything around him and he never got a fucking thing in return. At least he was able to sleep in his own bed again, now that his mom had cleaned his house after Wendy the junkie tornado. Thinking of his mom and how she was the only one keeping him from drowning under everything had made him think about last night. If he was being honest with himself he'd been thinking about last night all day. He'd been thinking about her all day.

He'd been thinking about her as Tara had clung to his body while he'd driven her home after her night shift. He'd been thinking about her as Tara asked without asking if he would take care of Kohn, who was parked down the street. He'd been thinking of her when he sliced into that asshole's radiator. He'd been thinking of her while he dealt with all the shit for the club that day. He'd been thinking about how much he wanted to go two floors up and see her while he nicked a key card from those doctors in the lounge. He'd been thinking about how much less stressed he'd feel with her than dealing with the fact that Lowell's dad was one of those sets of bones. Everything he'd done all day had made him crave being able to see her again.

Jax realized the reason he'd craved being with her again so much was because in the hour and a half he'd spent with her last night she'd done nothing but take care of him and take care of Abel even when she'd been the one that needed to be taken care of. He had gotten the sense that that was who Lyla was. He admitted to himself that it was selfish to try and pull her towards him. She was probably happy with someone else, a little family with a new baby. It didn't matter to him though, because too much had felt right when he'd been with her. Which is how he ended up outside her recovery room with flowers and a little blue bear.

He paused at the door, it was halfway open and he could see her clearly. She was propped up and she was facing away from him. She was wearing normal clothes now. Some kind of matching pajama dress and robe she'd brought with her. Her long blonde hair was pulled over her right shoulder and she was leaning slightly left. Her son's clear plastic bassinet was pulled as close to the left side of her hospital bed as it could be. She had one hand on the edge of the bassinet and she was humming softly to the sleeping baby.

He knocked softly, as to not wake the baby. She turned towards him then and the smile that lit her face was truly beautiful.

"Jackson, come meet Piper." she whispered. It was so easy to pretend that this was his already. So easy to imagine her telling him to come meet his son. The weight of the moment settled on him as he set the flowers and bear down on the counter top and walked around to the other side of the boy's bassinet.

What struck him immediately was how much bigger Piper was than Abel. How different a normal newborn, with a loving mom that did everything right, looked compared to his preemie son.

"He's perfect isn't he?" She whispered again. "He was born this morning at 8:49 am weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz...All 10 fingers and toes."

"You did real good Darlin'." He whispered back at her.

They stayed there, silently taking in the sleeping newborn. Neither felt the need to fill the silence, it was comfortable, almost bonding. He again found himself wishing that this was real, that this was his. The fact that she was alone suddenly made him angry.

"How are you feeling Darlin'? Have you slept much? You had a real long night last night. I'm surprised you were walking around at 4 am to even find me down in the NICU."

The one thing that had been amazing about St. Thomas was that they allowed him to come visit Abel really whenever he wanted. He had been so busy with everything going to shit with the club that the only real time he'd had was in the dead of night. Sleep didn't come easy to him these days anyway and he'd rather be checking on his son than tossing and turning.

"I haven't really yet. I don't think it's really hit me but I think it will soon. Every time I try to drift off I look over at him and I just don't even want to close my eyes for a second. I swear I could watch him forever." she replied.

"Where's the boyfriend? Run home to shower after being here for two days?" He tried to sound polite, but he was absolutely livid anyone could leave these two here after just becoming a family.

She laughed then, trying to keep quiet, it was more like the air kept hitching out of her nose than a real laugh. He raised an eyebrow in question, trying to figure out what was funny to her all the sudden.

"I'm sorry. I realize now I rambled on so much yesterday about the benefits of skin on skin that I never actually asked you anything about you, and never actually told you anything about me." She'd chuckled as she'd turned towards him.

"I felt like I learned a lot about you last night actually, but I guess we didn't talk much about ourselves." He agreed.

"Well, to answer your question. I don't have a boyfriend. It's just me, well me and Piper now. Long story, well actually I guess it's a really short story, but yeah...just us."

He was shocked. Someone had left her behind, left her and her son behind. What kind of fucking idiot did some shit like that? The silence stretched between them and before he could right himself she had changed the subject.

"How is Abel today? Have you seen him yet? Did he latch with the bottle? I wish I could go down and see him again but I can't take Piper into the NICU." She rambled to cover how embarrassed she felt.

"Slow down babe. Abel is good today. He still hasn't latched. I checked in with the nurses before coming over here, and I'm going back over later once they finish their rounds and charting." He calmly answered all the questions she'd slung at him. If she didn't have a man in her life than this wasn't going to be as difficult as he thought it would be. He was going to flirt shamelessly with her, treat her like she practically was his already, until it was just as easy for her to see the possibility of them as it was for him.

"Right now I'm here for you Lyla. You just had a baby, what do you need right now?" He wanted to show her that she wasn't the only one who could take care of someone else.

Jax watched as many emotions flitted across her face quickly; there was shock, then disbelief, then want. The last one caught him off guard, and had they not been in this situation he would have easily mistaken the want on her fact as lust. He shifted away from her slightly before the air between them got too charged and he did something stupid.

"Are you serious?" She questioned him, "Because there is something I would really love to ask of you but I don't want you to feel obligated to do me a favor."

"Lyla, after last night I want to think we're friends, you can ask a friend for a favor."

"Well the thing is...the food here is absolutely awful. I didn't eat all of yesterday, obviously since I was a little too busy with other things, and all day today I've just been dying for a burger!"

Jax couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh. This woman had just birthed a kid, hadn't slept in almost two days, and had cuddled his son to her like he belonged there and all she wanted from him was a burger…

"Don't laugh! I'm serious...I'm freaking starving and have been thinking about a burger all day. Don't make me beg Jackson, please." She fake whined at him.

Had it been a normal situation he would have made a comment about how pretty she would have looked begging but there was something that stopped him from saying it. He got the feeling Lyla was going to be more than his normal relationship. Hopefully that would be good since the last two had been fucking disasters that were still giving him hell.

"Well a burger is one thing I can definitely make happen Darlin'. You good with Ned's? Probably the only thing that's open right now." He said as he made his way to the door.

"Yeah, Ned's is totally fine. I actually used to work there for a bit, could you ask him to put it on toast if he's in the kitchen? Oh, and tell him I said hello."

He nodded at her and was gone before she could say thank you. He'd returned 15 minutes later with a huge bag, grease stains already marking the sides. She'd almost moaned audibly at how good burgers smelled. Having a kid with no meds was a lot of work. She was sore and exhausted, and she felt like she'd run a marathon on an empty stomach. He'd gotten himself a burger too and he took everything out of the bag and arranged it all on her rolling hospital table before pushing it and a chair closer to her bed.

She started eating immediately, and Jax had to inconspicuously adjust himself after the noise she made on her first bite. He hadn't been inconspicuous enough though because she'd definitely noticed and was now looking at him with the same face she'd asked for the burger with.

Jax was no stranger to the hungry look in a woman's eyes when they looked at him, what he wasn't used to was his immediate response to that look. Aside from Tara and Wendy he'd never really like to be tied down, he preferred to use his charm to get women naked as quickly as possible and then send them on their way just as quickly once he was done with them. With Lyla though, when she'd given him that hungry possessive look all he'd thought was if she thought he was hers, there'd be no problem convincing her she was his.

"I think we better actually get to know each other a little bit if you're gonna keep lookin' at me like that Darlin'."

He expected her to blush, and get embarrassed by his flirting, but she surprised him again when instead her eyes darkened even more and she smirked in his direction.

"Are you sure those are the rules? I thought it was you could look but you couldn't touch until you knew someone a little better?" She flirted back at him, a mischievous smirk on her face. "It seems you already know something about me though Jackson, I'm a nursing student. What about you, what do you do?"

His mom had once told him that the only way an ol' lady made it was if you told them everything or you told them nothing. He'd tried to tell Tara everything and she had rejected him and run for the hills. Worried his junkie ex wife would flip on a dime if pressured he'd never trusted her with anything important either. He had never been with anyone that had the possibility of being a partnership like his mom and Clay. The longer he'd been in the club the more he had wanted that kind of relationship though. The idea of being able to fully disclose, completely unburden himself of all his sins, all the pressure he felt, seemed like everything. So while he couldn't tell Lyla everything, obviously he barely knew her and she wasn't his ol' lady, he could start preparing her for what that was going to be like if she decided she wanted to be.

"Well I suppose you could say I am a mechanic."

Her brow furrowed as she looked up at him. "You suppose?"

"Well I'm a mechanic, I work at Teller-Morrow Automotive Repair. I can fix it all really, better with bikes, but I can fix most anything on a cage as well. But...I'm also the Vice President of a motorcycle club." He pointed to the patch on the front left pocket of his kutte.

"And you consider that a job, not a hobby?" She was catching on to what he was trying to tell her without telling her.

He watched her as her eyes ran over his body more purposefully now. He saw her pause on all the locations he was concealing or outright openly wearing weapons. Two gun holsters under the arms inside his kutte, the knife on his hip. She turned her head to the side as she contemplated the fact that he was very armed for visiting a hospital, which probably meant he was this armed all the time, which probably meant he considered his "job" very dangerous.

"I see…" She said as she finally looked back into his eyes. He was surprised she didn't look nervous, or scared, instead she looked almost more resolved.

"I think it's safe to say that you know I'm interested…" he started to explain to her "I just don't want there to be any confusion of just what that is gonna mean for you in the future."

She nodded at him then, understanding on her face.

"We just met Jackson, who knows where it's gonna go? I'm not really in any type of shape to be starting a relationship, I literally just had a kid yesterday. So why don't we just be two friends with newborns who like to be with the other? At least for a few months, until I'm back to my normal. Not that I don't think you're hot as hell, I just need a little time to get my own life together first."

He could understand what she was saying logically but it really wasn't what he wanted to hear. Not used to being turned down, he wasn't really sure how to continue. She must have noticed his face, because she reached out and grabbed the hand he had resting on the table.

"Look, I'm not saying no to seeing where this goes in the future. It isn't what you just told me either. Can you not understand that I might be feeling a little self conscious next to you right now? I mean Jesus Christ, you are like whoa...hot. I am like 25 lbs heavier than I normally am, and literally just had a baby. Who knows how many weeks, or months, it will be until I'm totally healed from doing that…" She squeezed his hand, trying to get him to understand what she meant.

"For the record, if you feel self conscious about how you look now, I have a feeling I'm going to be chasing after you like a crazed animal as soon as you're 'back to normal'. Cuz Darlin' I think you're real confused about just how good you look." He said as he squeezed her hand in return.

She'd blushed then, and he'd been a breath away from saying fuck it and yanking her towards him to plant his lips on hers. She said she needed time though, to get her head around being a mom, before she could jump into all that was his life. He couldn't blame her for that, if anything it made him more envious of the fact that his son didn't have a mother that put him above her own wants.

"One more thing, and look you don't have to answer if this is asking too much. It's just...I grew up in a really bad place. My parents were the kind of people that never should have been parents and that's before the smack. Once they started that it was...well honestly, it was fucking awful." He nodded, brows furrowed, confused as to where she was going with this.

"It's just...it isn't drugs is it? What you do? I just don't think I can stomach that." She finished, all in a rush, before looking up at him with those fucking beautiful blue eyes.

"No Darlin', it isn't drugs."

"Okay. I was wondering if you would mind if I stopped by the NICU tomorrow and spent some time with Abel? Piper has a check up with the pediatrician but they have to take him for like 45 minutes to an hour for routine stuff. Since I can't take Piper into the NICU, I was hoping to go down while they have him."

Just like that she had moved on. Like the fact that he'd just told her he was going to pursue her and that he made his money in dangerous illegal activities never happened. She just wanted to know if she could give a little bit more to him, and his son. Jax was floored by her, the fact that she was more concerned with his son than anything else was crazy to him.

"Of course I don't mind babe. You can see him whenever you want."

"Oh okay, I just wanted to check. You have to let the nurses know I can go in without you and that I can hold him, if you're okay with that too…I think the more skin on skin he gets the quicker we can get him eating on his own. Which reminds me, since I can't go down with you and show you, when you're doing skin on skin and he tries to turn and rub his nose and mouth on your chest...that's called rooting. It would be a really good time to try the bottle if he starts doing that. Just keep an eye out." She animatedly explained to him.

She had gotten louder as she'd become more passionate while talking about Abel. Her voice must have woken Piper because before Jax could respond Piper had let out a very healthy cry. He'd never really seen a baby make that much noise up close, Abel was so quiet all the time, which in his mind was more jarring. Before Piper could take another breath to continue though, Lyla already had picked him up and was unbuttoning the front buttons of her pajama dress.

"Can you hand me that blanket?" she pointed to the back of the chair he was sitting on. He handed it over to her without saying anything.

"You can stay if you want. I don't mind." She said as she draped the blanket over her chest and situated Piper underneath it. He went still and quiet almost immediately after disappearing under the cover.

He watched as she moved the blanket back with her left hand, just enough that she could look down into her son's eyes without showing anything off. He suddenly wished that blanket wasn't there, so he could see her and Piper just staring into each other's eyes. It was sexy to him, but not in the traditionally 'I want to fuck you' way. It was more meaningful than that. He was attracted to her because she was beautiful, but he was more attracted to her because she loved with her whole body and her whole heart, and he could see it. She must have felt him staring because she looked up to check on him, smiling at the look on his face.

"When are you getting out of here?" He asked as soon as their eyes met.

Jax wanted to make sure he knew where she was going to be. He didn't want to end up losing track of her before they even got started. Especially now that he knew what she looked like smiling up at him with a baby at her breast. She was definitely going to be his.

"The day after tomorrow. Piper has to be 48 hours old before we can go back home." She answered him.

"And where is home?"

"We live in the Shadow Creek apartments, they are between downtown and the hospital, right across from the middle school."

He nodded at that. It was good she was so close to his house. He lived in the subdivision behind the middle school. Hopefully after coming over a few times, she would see what a great place it was for kids. Especially now that his mom had finished decorating Abel's nursery.

"Good. Well Darlin' I gotta get going, let the ladies know you'll be stopping by tomorrow to be with Abel. I will see you tomorrow night though." He said as he stood and took a step towards her, bending slightly closer to her face. He brought his hand up and caressed the side of her jaw as he stared into her eyes. She blushed and her eyes darted down to his lips, as if thinking about how much she wanted to kiss him. He wanted that too, but he wanted something else more. He just had to know what it really looked like, he couldn't help himself from this angle. So, he slowly, pointedly looked down to where Piper was connected to her. The blanket was pulled back from his face so she could look down at him and now that Jax was in her space he could see Piper too. He looked so content, warm and safe, attached to a woman who clearly loved him. It was beautiful and Jax immediately wished it was Abel's eyes staring back at him in that moment.

"One more thing Darlin'..." he whispered before leaning in and kissing her cheek, lingering just long enough to let her imagine what it would be like when she did finally say yes. "Everybody calls me Jax."

With that, he stood and moved out of her space and towards the door. He turned back and looked at her one last time. She looked flustered by the way he'd said goodbye, and also like the last things she wanted was for him to leave. So, with one last wink and a 1000 watt smile, he turned the corner and headed towards the nurses station to let them know his woman, whether she admitted to being such or not, would be stopping by to see his son tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. Okay so a few things...first of all y'all are awesome! The responses/reviews I've been getting have been amazing. They have definitely motivated me to write faster too so...keep it up I guess. I'm so glad most of y'all are enjoying this story. Secondly, I wanted to give Lyla a little more defined backstory before some of her past comes back around soon. An earlier review mentioned not being able to see her as anything but a porn star. As that's how she was written in the show I get that. I just felt like Lyla was a obviously a person before she started doing porn, and clearly had a motivation for doing so. I like to believe this could have been Lyla if she'd had another option when her son was born. Lastly, after this chapter is where the timeline will start diverging from cannon. Some things will take longer and some things will happen more quickly, or characters will appear earlier.**

**With all that being said, I of course don't own S.O.A.**

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Lyla missed her bed. She hadn't slept well in days, which she'd been prepared for with a newborn, but she hadn't slept comfortably in the hospital bed when she did actually get to sleep. She wanted to get home, to her little apartment, her own bed, and all the things she'd set up for Piper. She couldn't wait to leave this stark white, sterile environment. A strange part of her felt like she wasn't ready to leave though too. She'd been wrestling with that feeling all morning, this nagging in her brain that something was wrong but she didn't know what.

At first she'd thought maybe it was anxiety about going home and being all alone with a newborn. In fairness she'd just become a mom yesterday, and prior to that had no real experience with taking care of anything for an extended period of time. But the more she'd thought on that, the more she'd realized she was excited to get Piper home and to start settling him into a schedule. So she'd sat with that feeling of wrongness the rest of the morning, still confused as to its origin.

She hadn't realized what it really was until she'd walked into the NICU. They'd come to get Piper and taken him to meet with the pediatrician to get circumcised just like she'd told Jax they would. While he was gone, she wandered down to the NICU to check on Abel, and get one last cuddle in before she left tomorrow. For some reason she'd felt so drawn to the little boy after their first meeting. Apparently so much, that she now realized how upset she was at the idea of leaving him there when her and Piper left the hospital tomorrow morning.

She'd understood what was making her feel so unsettled as soon as the nurse had helped her get Abel situated on her chest again. He was so small compared to Piper, who she'd become accustomed to supporting against her breast over the last 24 hours. Not only was he smaller, he was so still, and so quiet. She wondered if that had really freaked Jax out last night when Piper had started wailing.

Lyla had sat with Abel for a little over an hour when a nurse came and found her to let her know Piper was on his way back to her room. She realized she might be in a little trouble when she'd immediately felt torn about leaving. She was so excited to have Piper with her again, she'd missed him even in the hour he'd been gone, but she also didn't want to leave Abel. That's when she'd known it was going to be useless to fight against Jax if he really decided he wanted her.

She'd been honest when she'd tried to explain how she was feeling about getting into something so soon after meeting him. They hardly knew anything about each other, and yet everything that really mattered about the other too. She was insecure about how she looked right now, but she also knew she'd be back to her normal body pretty quickly. She was tall and thin, she hadn't gained that much weight while she was pregnant and breastfeeding burned calories like crazy. She was more worried about keeping up with Jax on a physical level. She could tell just in the time they'd spent together that he was no stranger to sex, he was experienced and forward. She didn't much mind that, she'd had her share of partners too but she wasn't in a place to be getting into any type of physical relationship for probably months. Waiting 3-5 dates was more her normal...waiting 2 months seemed insane.

At the same time, Lyla had seen parts of Jax that most people probably hadn't yet. Particularly concerning the way in which he was with his son, what kind of father he was becoming. That more than anything was what mattered to Lyla. She craved a stable home life, a real family. That was her dream really, to find someone to raise a family with, that loved and wanted her and loved and wanted their kids.

She'd grown up in a terrible home. Her father was abusive, both physically and mentally to both her and her sister, and their mom. When he wasn't at home screaming, or hitting, or cursing at her, he was either gone for days at a time or passed out on the couch from the whiskey or the crank. When she was 9 he'd graduated from whiskey and crank to smack. Worse, he'd dragged her mom along for the ride.

For a while it was bad, but Lyla and her older sister Charlotte made it work. Lottie was 4 years older than Lyla. For a couple years Lottie babysat for a woman, Ms. Williams, down the street who worked the night shift at the gas station. It didn't pay very much but it was enough for them to buy cheap groceries when there was nothing in the house. She always brought Lyla with her too, so neither of them were in the house much at night when her parents got really strung out. But then when Lottie was 16 she'd gotten pregnant and moved in with her boyfriend. Lyla babysat the Williams kids for a couple more years but eventually the oldest one was able to watch the younger siblings and Lyla was out of a job.

She'd hated being at home, her parents were a mess, their trailer was a mess, and the longer they went between a fix the more volatile both of them became. So Lyla had spent as much time away from them as she could. As soon as she was in high school she started dating older boys that would let her stay with them. She was never single. Pretty much as soon as one relationship ended she'd get into another one. The one thing she'd been meticulous about was not getting pregnant. She'd seen how hard it had been for her sister. That's probably why everyone thought she'd go into porn. She was constantly sleeping with someone.

She'd gotten a job at a sonic drive in when she turned 16 and every dollar she made she saved for a car. She'd finally been able to afford an old Buick Roadmaster around Christmas of her senior year. It was the biggest looking mom-mobile ever but it was roomy and the few nights her parents were unbearable, and she was in between boyfriends, she would sleep in it outside the high school.

Lyla worked hard in school, knowing it was the only way she'd ever get out of her hometown. She would still go out and have a good time with whoever she was dating, but she never messed with any drugs and always finished her homework regardless of how late she stayed out. When she'd received her acceptance letter to Sacramento State she'd cried for over an hour because she'd been so relieved that she could finally leave.

She spent the summer between high school and college working as many shifts as possible and applying for every scholarship she could find. She wrote all her essays on the one computer the public library in her hometown had. Her hands had hurt so bad from writing what must have been a hundred essays, but it paid off because she'd been chosen for enough scholarships to pay for her entire first year's tuition, fees, and books.

Two days before she left for orientation she broke up with the guy she'd been seeing and started loading all her belongings into the Roadmaster. Sacramento was only about 3 hours from her hometown. She showed up on the day of orientation not knowing anyone, having no job, and no place to live, but she was determined to make it work. Which is how she'd found herself inside the office of a strip club on the last night of orientation week.

Dancing had been easy really. Lyla was easy going and quiet most of the time, so she got along with the house mom and most of the other girls that worked at the club. She went to school during the day and danced most nights. The money wasn't always good but some nights it was great. She found a little apartment in Sacramento where the rent wasn't too bad. It wasn't in the best neighborhood but it wasn't the worst either. She saved all her money, still used to living on less than a hundred dollars a week. She always paid her tuition in full at the beginning of every semester. She didn't have cable, or the internet, hell she didn't even own a computer or TV, but she was happy.

She never really had any problems dancing. The bouncers all knew her and would walk her to her car after she closed out, the house mom always stacked and wrapped her money if she could, and she built up quite a few regulars. About a year in a guy kept coming in and asking for her. A few times he'd gotten aggressive when he was told she wasn't there, and had had to be thrown out. It wasn't totally abnormal until he started following her home. She'd ended up getting so freaked out that she'd spent some of her savings and bought a gun, and taken a few shooting classes. When he finally got the nerve to get out of the car and approach her while she was walking into her apartment she'd taken it out and shot at his feet. He'd never approached her again, thankfully.

After working at the club for two years the manager approached her about an opportunity to help open a new club in Stockton. She could work the best nights in Sacramento and then be one of a small group of girls to work in Stockton on the off days. The less girls on the floor the more in demand they would be, both on stage and in the dance room. She'd agreed and that's how she'd found herself in Charming.

When she'd first driven through she'd thought it looked cute. There was a nice little downtown with shops and a small grocery store. The houses were all kept up pretty well, and it wasn't too far from the club in Stockton. She'd stopped at a gas station and overheard a conversation about the new apartment complex by the middle school. After working at the club for a few months she'd become a fast favorite of the truckers coming down 99. The money was good, even on her off days and she'd decided to stay on even when her school started back up a few months later.

Her lease had been up around the middle of summer and on a whim she'd stopped over at the apartment complex she'd remembered hearing about in Charming. The apartments were new, and everything was pretty nice, plus the rent was $280 less a month than where she was in Sacramento. It was even less if she signed a longer term lease. She'd ended up signing an 18 month lease and saving herself $375 a month. She'd been there for 3 months before she went out with her friends to celebrate a birthday.

It must have been a god thing really... Lyla was so careful about taking her birth control pills, it had become such a habit from her high school days. The problem hadn't been her forgetting though. She'd had a sinus infection the week before and was at the very end of a cycle of antibiotics. So, one broken condom later, her being too drunk to realize and improperly working birth control and she'd found herself knocked up. She hadn't even figured it out until her morning sickness had fully kicked in somewhere in the second month of school. After two weeks of throwing up consistently she'd realized it was more than the flu.

By the time she'd gone to her first doctor's appointment she'd inventoried her savings. She had about 6 months of rent saved, less if she used it for bills, gas, and food. She'd need more if she had any hope of finishing her last year of school after the baby came. So, she picked up every single shift she could at either club. She danced every single night until it had become obvious just why she was working like a crazy person. She'd quit right after Christmas. Nobody wanted to watch an obviously pregnant stripper.

Lyla had ended up finding a job working the night shift at Ned's Truck-stop Diner in Charming around the end of January. Most of the trucker's that stopped there used to be her regulars at the club. They always recognized her and tipped pretty well once they realized why she wasn't at the club anymore.

By the time her finals were taken and she'd finished Piper's nursery she'd saved enough to make it through until Christmas. 7 months of rent, bills, and groceries, and 3 months of daycare at the university childcare center. How she was going to finish her last semester after that was beyond her, but she knew she could figure it out.

She'd resigned herself to a life of constantly figuring everything out by herself. Being the stereotypical single mom, who somehow, by the skin of her teeth, always made it work. She hadn't realized how lonely that had really been, or would continue to be, until she'd met Jax in the most unlikely of places. In a short time, he forced her to realize just what exactly was possible, and she'd seen it. A family, someone stable, who loved his son, and was committed to doing whatever he had to, to take care of that tiny boy.

She'd left Abel reluctantly, and thought about Jax the rest of the day. She slept on and off all afternoon with Piper by her side, feeding him and coaxing him back to dreamland before dozing in and out herself. When midnight rolled around she'd rolled Piper's plastic bassinet into the open tile bathroom connected to her room and showered. Jax had a tendency to come late into the night, and she'd figured that night wouldn't be any different. She debated whether or not to blow dry her hair, but eventually decided against it, in hopes that Piper would stay asleep. She'd dressed in black leggings and an old Guns N' Roses tee that was two sizes too big and so worn it felt as thin as paper. She'd have to fully lift her shirt to nurse Piper but she figured she'd just use the nursing cover, Jax had already seen it happen anyway.

She'd been towel drying her hair in front of the bathroom mirror when suddenly he was there, standing behind her. She realized she'd left the door open after grabbing her clothes so he'd known she was decent before walking in. He stepped up behind her, his chest touching her back, and wrapped both his arms around her waist. He rested his head on the back of her neck, and hugged her to him, the tension in his body almost immediately draining away.

"Hey…" She whispered as she leaned back into him.

He didn't respond, he just hugged her a little tighter and breathed in the smell of her hair. She turned in his arms to face him, and grabbed his face to turn his eyes towards hers. He looked exhausted. Like the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. She wished she could take some of that pain. She dropped her arms from his face, and grabbed one of his hands. She dragged him back into the room while pushing Piper's bassinet in front of her. She situated Piper up against the bed, and pushed Jax down into the rocking chair in the corner, before finally settling herself cross legged on the end of her bed facing Jax.

"Tell me what you can." She whispered, and nodded to let him know it was alright. She understood that he couldn't tell her much, but maybe just talking about things generally would help and she could tell he needed to talk.

"Do you ever feel like you give so much that there's none of you left?" He'd asked as he turned his head to stare out the window of her room.

"Sometimes, but then something happens and I'm reminded of why it is I'm giving, and then somehow I feel better, more myself." She answered him honestly.

"I got stabbed in the leg today and I think I just realized I've been being manipulated into hurting someone and inadvertently hurting myself." He continued staring off into nothing.

Lyla rose from the bed then, and crossed the room to stand in front of him. She reached out and cradled his head into her and began running her fingers through his hair.

"First off, is your leg alright?" She asked, pausing her petting until he had nodded. "Secondly, does this have to do with your business or your personal life?"

"It's not the club, though there's a bunch of shit stressing me out about that too." He rubbed his forehead against her to get her to keep running her hands through his hair.

"You can tell me what's going on in your personal life Jackson. I won't judge you, I hope you know that."

He lifted his head then and looked into her eyes, like he was checking to see if she was being honest about that. He finally found what he was looking for, and pulled her down to sit on his right knee, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"When I was 19 I had just patched in. I'd been dating this girl Tara for about a year and a half. We started dating when I was a senior in high school. She was a year younger than me. I thought we wanted the same things. I was excited about the club, and I thought she wanted to be my ol' lady. We never really talked much about the future, but I always assumed we would be together. So when she graduated and told me she was leaving to go to college in Chicago I was shocked. She asked me to come with her, but all I'd ever wanted was to be a part of the club, just like my dad had been."

He paused in his explanation as if thinking about how to continue. She snuggled back into him, and nodded, letting him know she understood.

"She left, and I stayed. I tried my best to move on, but I never really found anyone after that I cared about the same way I cared about Tara. I finally figured I better settle down and start a family a few years ago. I was in my late twenties and I thought I wasn't getting any younger. So I hooked up with Wendy my ex wife. I knew she was a mistake even then, one which you know how eventually ended. But then, right when I rush over to the hospital to see what's happened to her and to Abel, the doctor who comes to tell me the news is Tara."

She tensed then, thinking maybe he was regretting what he'd said to her last night. Maybe this was the intro to a redemptive ex story, and Lyla had just been something to pass the time. She tried to stand and move back to the bed, determined not to show him how much that would hurt her, but he just squeezed her to him tighter.

"Hey...hey, it isn't that Darlin' I swear. Come back, come back to me." he whispered as she stopped fighting against his hold. She turned and tilted her face up towards his, checking to see if she saw the truth in his eyes. She couldn't see anything dishonest there. She turned again, leaning over to check on Piper, before settling into him once more.

"Since Tara's been back I haven't really seen her, she's a surgeon and she helped with both Abel's surgeries but since he's been healing we've had no real reason to talk. After the night you and I met she asked me to give her a ride home. I thought it was weird but I just figured her car was in the shop. But then some guy followed us the entire way from the hospital to her house. When I mentioned it she freaked. She told me the A.T.F. agent that's made himself known in Charming, is none other than her ex from Chicago, who got violent, started stalking her after she broke up with him, has violated a restraining order and is now harassing her. I ended up threatening the guy to leave her alone, and stuck a knife into his radiator."

"Jesus…She must be terrified! What a fucking creep to follow her all the way across the country. She should report him!"

"Yeah it gets worse." he sighed, "Apparently, because I gave her a ride home, this guy gets it in his head that Tara and I are back together. So this fucking asshole breaks into my house last night, while I was here, and absolutely trashes Abel's nursery, and then tapes all these photos of me he's taken over the last several weeks to the wall."

She whipped around to so he could clearly see her face. The emotions there surprised him. He thought he'd see fear, which he did, but he also saw absolute righteous fury.

"What the fuck! Who trashes a baby's nursery, to settle some made up vendetta?" She hissed out her teeth, shoulders tense like she was ready to kill this guy herself.

"I ended up tracking him down earlier this afternoon. I found him at the barber shop, and ended up throwing him through the front window. I beat the ever loving shit out of him, and made it clear that I am in no way interested in Tara at all. Before I could finish it though, this fucker grabs a pair of scissors and stabs me in the fucking leg! We both ended up being hauled into the police station. They let me go but they charged him with violating the restraining order and loaded him into a police cruiser to send him back to Chicago."

"Oh my god, Jax! Are you sure your leg's okay? Have you had it checked?" She reached down and grabbed his other knee, as if she'd be able to figure out where he'd been injured just by staring at his jeans.

"I'm fine, another guy in the club is a medic, ended up giving me 4 stitches."

He was still tense, anxious, like there was something else that was bothering him. She'd picked up on it as soon as the silence stretched between them.

"This is a horrible situation Jackson, but it doesn't really explain why you feel like you've been manipulated…" She trailed off trying to get him to finish his real story.

The silence continued, he was turned towards the window again. She swung her legs over his other leg and the side of the chair, trying not to put any pressure on his wound. She turned her chest fully into his, so close she could feel the heat of his body through her shirt. She reached up with both hands and turned his face towards hers again. She brushed her thumbs back and forth over the sides of his beard and repeated the words he'd spoken to her earlier.

"Hey...come back to me."

He blinked a few times before he leaned down and lightly brushed his lips over hers. It was so gentle it almost didn't count in her mind as a real kiss.

"Before I came over here, I went and talked to Tara. Something about the whole thing just didn't sit right with me, so I asked her... I asked her if she came back here because she knew that if that guy followed her I would be here, and I'd hurt him. She didn't even really answer me. She just said she didn't know if he'd follow her, and that the question sounded like something my ma would ask, not me."

The look on his face, while he explained what was really the root of why he was so upset, killed her. He looked so much like a little boy whose feelings had been absolutely destroyed. She didn't have to ask him to know that he really believed Tara had used him, and that he'd fallen right into it.

"This guy broke into your home Jackson. He trashed your son's nursery and has clearly been stalking you for weeks...yeah...maybe Tara brought him here in the first place, and maybe she even came here because she knew you'd take care of it. Regardless, he came after you, threatened you, and that needed to be answered."

"You think I did the right thing? You think getting mixed up in this whole thing wasn't a mistake?" He whispered his question, with such a broken voice. It hurt her to think he was so conflicted about the outcome of the whole thing.

Before she could respond Piper woke with a cry, demanding to be fed. Lyla squeezed Jax's hand before she rose to extract Piper from his bassinet. Instead of feeding him on the hospital bed, with the cover over her chest, she crossed the room and retook her seat on Jax's knee. She leaned back into him, and made sure she was comfortable and supported before she lifted her shirt, unhooked her nursing bra, and got Piper to latch all in one smooth move. She settled further back into Jax and slouched slightly so he could lean over and see Piper if he wanted to. She knew he had a thing for watching her feed her son, he'd made that apparent last night.

"I think that your first priority is Abel, and if you got into it with this A.T.F. agent because he crossed a boundary with your son, than of course I don't think you did anything wrong. It seems like that's what you're explaining to me. It doesn't sound like you made the choices you did for Tara, at least not entirely. Did you?"

"No, you're right. I was upset because he dragged me and my son into something that wasn't my business. It sucks what's happening to Tara, but I don't feel like I owe her something, if that's what you mean." He answered, as he pulled her shoulders back into his chest, making it easier for him to get a clear view of Piper over her shoulder. He reached up and ran his hand along Piper's head, back and forth in a comforting motion. Lyla angled her head up towards his and ran her nose along the lower part of his jaw, before briefly kissing where his jaw and neck met.

"I think you're right to be upset with Tara, it seems like she involved you in her personal drama without letting you know ahead of time. At the same time, she doesn't have control over how crazy people act, and what happened was just that, crazy." He nodded at her explanation.

"Enough about this shit. Did you go down and see lil man today?" She nodded, before switching Piper over to her other side.

"I did, I went down for a little over an hour. The nurses said he's been doing well. I held him for as long as I could before I had to come back. Still no rooting, but he'll get there. I actually wanted to talk to you about something I realized while I was down there…"

"What did you realize while you were down there?" He asked with a smirk, thinking she was going to go off on another explanation of some neonatal technique he should be trying.

"I just...well I guess I realized how attached I am becoming to Abel, and maybe you too…When they came to get me, when Piper was done with his appointment, I felt so conflicted about leaving. And I just think...if you're still wanting to try and see where we go, I would be open to that. But we have to take things slow! Obviously it's going to be at least 6 weeks until I'm really able to give much attention to a physical relationship...so...yeah." She stuttered, clearly embarrassed about the specifics of her feelings.

"Yeah?" He couldn't quite hide the excitement in his voice.

"Mmhmm...I don't know what's gonna happen, but I know I want you and Abel in my life. It's crazy Jax, I feel so connected to him sometimes it hurts."

It may have been fast, but Lyla didn't care. Maybe it was the hormones, maybe it was the fact that she never turned away from anything hard, or maybe it was because the possibility of making a little family was just meant to be. Jax didn't respond, he just squeezed her to him tighter, running his hand along Piper's head again.

"I talked to the nurses, they said that Abel's lungs are looking good and as soon as he gets over 6 lbs they are going to take him out of the toaster. He'll still have to stay for a few more weeks but he will be in the normal nursery. They said you can bring Piper in once he goes to the nursery. If you want to go, that is."

Before she could stop herself, her eyes started watering. The idea of being able to come back and see Abel meant everything. She'd been so sad earlier this morning, thinking that would be the last time she held him for such a long time. She swiped at her eyes before any real tears could fall, this was happy news after all.

"I do. I will be here as soon as he gets released into the regular nursery." She promised Jax.

"I told my Ma about you yesterday." He confessed.

"Ha, I'm sure she thought you were crazy. Picking someone up in the maternity ward."

"Nah, she came over to help me with the clean up for Abel's nursery. Started giving me all kinds of shit about Tara inviting trouble back into my life. I just told her me and Tara, we were ancient history. I had something better going for me now. I didn't say much else but she said if I still have something better goin' by her 'family Sunday dinner' next month I should bring you along."

He said it so casually, like it was the simplest thing. Lyla got the impression though, that it definitely wasn't a small ask. She got the feeling "family Sunday dinner" was a real big deal.

"Oh...and are you going to tell her about how this all started, that I have a newborn?"

"Yeah, eventually. Give it a few more weeks, so she doesn't think I'm totally crazy." He laughed through his explanation.

"Do you have a big family? Who will I meet there?"

"I don't really, and I do. It's just me and my mom left. I had a brother, but he died when I was young. Same heart defect we all have, went undetected until it was too late. My dad passed when I was in high school. Family for us means the club. So you'll meet a lot of people. Probably 10 guys from the club, a few will bring their ol' ladies, maybe some other kids."

So this was a big deal. She realized that if he was bringing her into something like this, than he was really testing her trust. After all, he'd basically come out and told her he made his money illegally and through the club, which meant the club was kind of like an organized crime operation. Yes, this was definitely a test; did she trust him to bring her into this, and was she strong enough to deal with his life?

She didn't even think about her answer. "Sounds good. When is it?"

"Three weeks, Sunday at 7:30. Until then though, we need to figure out when we are going to see each other after you break out of this joint."

Piper had drifted off to sleep. She pulled him away from her body, before sitting up and relatching her bra, and fixing her top. She turned and offered the sleeping baby to Jax. He reached out and Lyla transferred Piper into Jax's cradled arms. She stood then and grabbed her phone out of her hospital bag.

"Here give me yours too." She held her hand out for his phone. Once he handed it over, she dialed her own number and called herself. She hung up and then saved her name in his phone under the dialed number, before doing the same with hers.

"There…"She handed it back to him, "Now you can reach me anytime. Knowing you, you'll probably want to show up at my house at 3 am."

He smirked at her, his eyes traveling the length of her body in a dangerously lascivious way. It sent a chill down her spine just wondering what he was thinking about. She wished she was back to normal already. The next 6 weeks were going to be the hardest of her life. The idea of keeping her hands to herself was awful.

He stood, the baby still protectively held to in his arm, and crossed the room to her. The heat of his eyes was mesmerizing. Before she realized what he was doing, he had reached the hand not holding the baby around, grabbed her firmly by the ass and pulled her into his side. At this angle he towered over her and she had to look up to see his face. Once she did, he leaned in, and in one fell swoop melded his lips to hers.

The kiss was intense, hot and hungry, and if Lyla hadn't been sure her heart was already toast, she was now. She gasped into the kiss, surprised at how passionately he'd come at her. He took full advantage and ran his tongue inside the seam of her lips, hooking around her teeth and finding her own tongue. As the surprise wore off, she found herself meeting his tongue with just as much heat, dragging her hands up his chest, and clutching his shirt in her hands. After moments he broke the kiss, letting her gasp for much needed air. Oh….she was so fucked.

"Would you let me in...if I showed up at 3 am?" He leaned down and whispered in her ear before taking the lobe into his mouth and sucking sexily.

She was already hanging by a thread, as she ran her hands through his hair and desperately clutched him to her tighter. Lyla was sure that when she was finally healed and gave into Jax it was going to be the best she'd ever had, especially now that she had some idea what his tongue could do. He pulled back to look at her then, her eyes glazed over with lust. She knew if she answered him, her voice would sound like it was mixed with gravel, so she just nodded to keep from embarrassing herself.

"Well then...I guess I will see ya Darlin'. Probably not tomorrow night, I got some shit to do for the club. But expect me the night after." He took a step away from her as he finished.

She was still too wound up to think of something clever, so he stepped around her and placed Piper back in his bassinet when she didn't respond. He ran his hand over the baby's head one last time, in a silent and protective goodbye. He turned back toward her, ready to leave and go check in on his son again before going home to sleep. She'd been facing him already, watching his interaction with Piper, she took a few steps towards him now that the baby was safely in his bed.

She reached for him again, placing her hand right over his heart, as she leaned into him. Lyla's head went to his chest, and she breathed in his scent one last time before he left. Two days suddenly felt like it was a lifetime away.

"Just text me when you're on your way over, I will make sure Piper has either eaten already or is asleep."

"I will baby." He hugged her to him one last time, before leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. Before she could respond he had stepped away and was already out the door. She wasn't sure how it happened but it seemed like every time she saw Jackson it was like a hurricane in the open ocean. She felt as though they just kept picking up more and more steam, heading down a path, and when they finally came together it was going to be devastating. The idea was scary, but at the same time Lyla knew that if they worked, it was going to be so worth it in the end.

She busied herself repacking her hospital bag so her and Piper would be ready to leave as soon as they were able to in the morning. She was all the sudden very eager to get home, especially now that she knew she could come back as soon as Abel was out of the incubator. She left out clothes for tomorrow, and a onesie she'd packed for Piper to wear home. As she looked down at the onesie she began to laugh, she'd never expected bringing along a onesie with little motorcycles on it would have turned out to be so serendipitous. Maybe it really was meant to be.


	4. Chapter 4

**A.N. There is a two week jump from the last chapter to this one. I will circle back around to that missing time when I get back to Lyla and Jax. For now, let's give a slow round of applause for the sexiness that is Herman Kozik... After Opie, I actually think Koz is my next favorite. What can I say I like the giant, easy going ones...**

**I own nothing in S.O.A.**

Kozik had a soft spot for Charming. It had been where he'd really found his place in the MC. Over the last two weeks the tension between SAMCRO and the Nords had continued to escalate. The Nords wanted into Charming and it was clear they were willing to drop bodies to make it happen. With SAMCRO still being short on the cash required to continue their deal with the Irish they didn't have time to waste with a small town drug beef. So 9 days ago the Redwood charter had called in reinforcements. The "ten best" had been called to Charming to help manage the violence.

Herman Kozik hadn't been back in Charming for almost 7 years. He'd stopped volunteering to do runs for SAMCRO once the relationship between him and Tig had deteriorated after he'd accidentally ran over Tig's dog Missy. He'd committed much of his time since being indispensable to SAMTAC and had worked his way up to earning himself an officer badge. Now though SAMCRO needed his skills, plus he hadn't seen Opie since he'd gotten out of the joint and he wanted to welcome his brother back home.

Kozik had been 26 when he'd come home from his last deployment. He'd found the sons soon after and had been a prospect at the same time as Jax and Opie had. He was 7 years older than them but they'd come up in the club together. He'd made fast friends because of his easy going attitude, good-natured humor, and ability to listen and keep his mouth shut about the things people shared with him. Tig had been Kozik's sponsor for SAMTAC. Most of the year he prospected had been spent in Charming because Tig had been needed to help clean up some shit with the Mayans. Kozik had done what he needed to do to earn his rocker that year, but he'd also spent a good amount of time with Jax and Opie blowing through the benefits of being part of the club. The booze and the women were never ending, particularly after Jax decided to try and move on once Tara dipped out.

Kozik had never really understood Jax's need to always have an ol' lady until recently. It seemed like Jax preferred the stability of that life even if he'd looked in the wrong places or hadn't been ready for it. Now that Kozik was nearing 40 he was starting to regret spending so much time indulging in booze and women, and not spending any time making a life for himself outside the club. Yes, the club was everything to him, but he still went home to a quiet house at the end of the night, and that sucked.

After arriving in Charming he thought he'd spend some time with his friends celebrating Opie's freedom but he'd come to find Opie had recommitted himself to Donna once he'd gotten out, and apparently Jax was already grooming his next ol' lady. It was almost sickening how much Jax talked about his new bitch Lyla. He'd heard more about how smart, and caring and loving she was than about how much of a tight piece of ass she was. Jax had mentioned that too of course, and that not only was she hot as hell, she also used to be a stripper down at Deja Vu. Kozik hadn't seen her yet, but if she used to dance it probably meant her body was right and she knew how to use it too.

Interestingly, Jax had talked to Kozik a lot about how with Lyla things were gonna be different. Apparently, he was being totally upfront with her from the jump and hoping she would become his own little SAMCRO queen, much like his mama before her. Jax had already told him all about how he was eventually planning on getting Lyla to help Chibs as much as possible once she finished nursing school. The VP had planned on creating something of their own little mobile medical unit if bloody situations continued to arise. Until then Jax was trying to ease her in slow, still gun shy about how things had ended with Tara.

Unfortunately for Jax, that plan wasn't meant to be. It turned out the continued Nords presence had been nothing more than a distraction so Mayans could infiltrate SAMCRO's meeting with the Irish. They'd attempted to put Clay down but instead had ended up shooting the Irish distributor twice in the ass, and then getting themselves pumped full of lead.

Kozik had been out in the lot for a smoke when Tig had called in a panic. Chibs hadn't answered his phone and the Irish fucker was fading fast. They needed Chibs, supplies, and the transport van immediately. Before he'd even hung up the phone, he'd run inside and started barking orders at any patch within sight. Within minutes he'd loaded Chibs, Opie, Juice, and the prospect into the stolen ambulance in the garage and booked it for the bar. Chibs had done what he could but he was only a battle medic. A tourniquet and tons of gauze later and he'd had to inform Jax there wasn't anything else he could do.

"Yeh need ta call yer lassie. I cannit stop this bleedin' Jackie." Chibs had yelled out across the garage as soon as the ambulance had rolled into the TM.

Jax had looked conflicted for all of a moment before his eyes hardened and he nodded once in response. Lyla had shown up 5 minutes later with a newborn baby sleeping in a car seat and although she looked momentarily shell-shocked she'd taken charge right away.

"Where is your medical kit?" She yelled at Jax as she snapped gloves on before pressing gauze down on Cameron's wounds.

"You're lookin' at it Darlin'. That's what we have to work with."

Kozik wasn't quite sure what had been more surprising, the fact that Lyla apparently had a kid or the fact that she hadn't even blinked when she removed the gauze and blood spurted all over her tank top.

"Oh fuck it." She'd huffed as she'd reached into Cameron's leg and pinched off the spurting artery he'd been bleeding from.

"Okay listen up, after the time he was shot there was exactly 6 hour window until this leg dies. I have no idea how long this tourniquet has been on him, but I'm going to say if we don't fix this within 2-3 hours this leg is toast. The bigger problem is the bleeding itself. He needs to go to the hospital, his femoral vein has been hit and he will bleed out quickly if this doesn't get fixed. I'm surprised he hasn't lost consciousness yet. For the vein I'm gonna say under an hour. I can't fix the vein, I'm not trained to, and even if I was you don't have any actual medical supplies to do it with. I'd need clamps, a suture kit, saline, and probably tons of antibiotics considering it's disgusting in here and I haven't sterilized anything."

Everyone had turned towards her like she'd grown two heads. They were all totally unaccustomed to being ordered around by a woman. She flinched away from Tig slightly, the look he was giving her was menacing, but then her eyes had hardened as she looked to Jax again.

"If I got you what you needed could you fix it?" He asked her in a calm soothing voice.

"Maybe...probably not. At best I could patch this vein back together but he really needs to be worked on by someone more skilled." She gestured wildly with her left hand, while the other was still lodged in Cameron's leg.

Kozik had to admit Jax had been right when he'd described Lyla. She'd clearly been at home sleeping and rushed to the club house in whatever she'd had on. As she stood there in a skin tight tank top and black leggings, with blood spattered across the entirety of her chest, her blonde hair loose and wavy, he'd immediately thought what a lucky son of bitch Jax was. Plus she'd apparently never been to the clubhouse and to come in and deal with this shit for the first time...well...she was pretty impressive.

Just when Kozik thought the silence couldn't stretch any longer, Jax's phone began blaring. As he looked down at the screen, Kozik had seen a hint of relief in his eyes.

"Yeah?" Jax answered in a slightly hostile voice. "What? Now? You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me! Yeah...yeah, alright." he bit out before hanging up.

"Babe, I will be right back. You got this shit under control for a couple minutes?" He looked to Lyla waiting until she nodded before turning to Kozik and motioning for him to follow him outside.

Once they were both out of hearing range Jax filled Kozik in about what had been going on with Tara. About how she had come back, fleeing a psycho, running straight to him and the club. But he wasn't interested in Tara anymore, held no responsibility or obligation for Tara's mess even if she had once meant something to him.

"She just called Koz. He attacked her in her home, she played along, got his gun away and shot him. He's got a non-fatal wound to the stomach, bleeding all over her bedroom. She called me instead of the cops. I don't want to give her the wrong impression. Lyla, Abel, Piper that's what I want now. We could sure use a doctor right about now, if you know what I mean though."

Kozik knew what he meant, and truthfully this shit couldn't have dropped in their lap at a better time. He nodded at the VP once before starting towards his ride.

"She's got to be the one to decide Koz...she'll never come willingly if she isn't. You know Tara." Jax warned him as he made his way to his bike.

"Her dads?" Kozik asked, receiving only a nod in response.

The drive to Tara's place was quick, 7 minutes total. He'd made it several times before, long ago, when they'd all been friends. He parked his bike right out front and made his way to the door. Before he could even lift his hand to knock, the door was yanked open. There in the doorway stood a very curvy, and only half dressed Tara. Kozik saw the look of pain, flash across her eyes when she recognized him.

"Where's Jax?" She immediately questioned while pulling her cardigan closed.

"He ain't comin' Doll Face. Why? Were you wantin' to flash him those tiny panties?" He smirked as he pushed past her into the living room.

"What are you doing here Herman?" She demanded as she followed him down the hallway towards her bedroom.

"You know what I'm doing here Tara." He answered as he neared the bedroom door. She grabbed his hand and yanked him back around to face her before he could enter the bedroom, fury clear on her face.

"I'm fucking serious. Why the fuck did he send you?"

"Look Tara, we used to be friends. I thought you were smarter than this. Jax sent me here because he isn't interested in being the one to save you. He doesn't owe you anything, and quite frankly, he only sent me because we...me, you, Jax, Opie, Donna...we used to be friends, and that used to mean something."

He paused, letting a little guilt well in her, before he continued explaining his terms.

"Now, you know you could have called the cops Doll Face. You knew nothing would have happened to you. But he goes away for violating that restraining order for two...maybe three years. Then he is right back out and there is nothing to stop him from doing this again...and next time...well, you might not be so lucky."

Fear washed over her face before she reached out and grabbed his hand again.

"I can't do this again Koz. I can't…"

"I know Doc...that's why you called us. Cuz you know if we handle this, right here...right now...then you won't have to."

He paused again, waiting for the reality of what he was about to do sink in for her.

"Here's the thing though Tara, favors don't come for free. We haven't been friends for a long time. So if I'm gonna do this for you, which I have no problem doing, I'm gonna need something from you in return...the club's gonna need something from you in return."

There it was...the deal Jax had asked him to make to save their asses, all phrased like it would be Tara's choice in the end. Kozik may not have been the smartest of his brothers but he was definitely the most well versed in talking his way into and out of things.

"You're fucking joking right! What the fuck do you want from me? After everything I've been through with the club, this is it?"

The one thing Kozik prided himself on was that he'd always been a lover of the ladies. For the most part he'd grown up in a stable, middle class home with two good parents. His dad loved his mom and always treated her right. Showed him and his brother how to treat women in the future. He thought the way some of his brothers treated women was atrocious, and he'd vowed a long time ago to never raise his hand to the fairer sex. He'd never admit it, but he'd never been closer to striking a woman than right then in Tara's hallway. She must have seen the shift in his eyes, because she dropped his hand and took a step away from him.

"I'm sorry...you must be the one that's fucking joking Tara! Just what exactly have you been through with the club? Because from where I sit, you strung someone along until shit got tough and then you fucking ran like a scared little girl. So here's the deal, I take care of this clusterfuck you've gotten yourself into...your ass is on call for the club...for I don't know how long. We need you, you drop everything, within reason, and you come. Or I can fucking walk out of here, you can call the goddamn cops, and handle your own fucking mess. So what's it gonna be?" He practically yelled right into her face.

She dropped her eyes to the floor, huffing out a long slow breath. They stood there in silence for a few moments before she nodded to herself and brought her eyes back to his.

"Fine…"

"Fine…" he repeated. "Go into the kitchen, turn the radio on real loud. Make us some coffee to go...grab your med bag, we're gonna need you as soon as I'm done with this asshole."

She hadn't said anything, just turned and walked back down the hallway. He'd waited a full 5 minutes before Led Zeppelin's Black Dog kicked on so loud he knew she wouldn't be able to hear much of anything. Then in one smooth move he pushed to door in hard enough for it to bounce off the interior wall. The fucker had crawled his way to the bathroom doorway, as soon as he saw Kozik his eyes went wide with fear. He couldn't seem to help himself though because instead of pleading for his life he just started screaming at Tara even though she couldn't hear him. Kohn hadn't made it a whole sentence before Kozik had put two in his head.

He turned and made his way back down the hallway. He found Tara in the kitchen, now in jeans, with two to-go coffee mugs and her med bag on the table.

"Sit here…" He pointed at the chair in front of him. "Face the window. Where are your keys?"

She sat with no argument and pointed to a hanging hook near the door. Koz grabbed the keys before grabbing trash bags from underneath her sink.

"Tape?" he asked, she pointed towards a junk drawer in her kitchen.

He retrieved everything he needed and then made his way back towards her bedroom. Once there, he bagged Kohn's head and wrapped another bag around his abdomen, then he duct taped the bags securely in place so he wouldn't drip blood all over Tara's house as he moved the guy out. Then he heaved the body over his shoulders and made his way back through the house. Tara had stayed where she was, faced away and looking out the window.

'There's a good girl.' He thought as he passed to the front door with the body of her ex. It was well past 2 in the morning and there weren't any neighbors to be seen. All the lights on her street were out. He'd meticulously checked before briskly making his way the 10 steps to her car and dumping Kohn into the trunk. He made his way back to Tara, reaching down and grabbing her med bag for her.

"Alright Doll Face, the rest of the clean up will have to fall to you. Nothing too bad in there, just a little blood. Gonna have to wait until later though. Got an emergency down at the garage. You got stuff in here to do a back alley surgery?"

"I can make it work...gonna have to write a script for antibiotics though. Let me grab my pad." She said as she retrieved it from her desk and shoved it into her purse.

"Come on then Doll Face...we're on a clock." He said as he hustled her out to her Cutlass.

They made it back in 5 minutes. Kozik pulling a hesitant Tara behind him as quickly as he could. When they made it inside it was still absolute pandemonium. While they were gone Lyla had created some kind of MacGyver transfusion system that Bobby and Cameron were hooked up to while her hand was still inside Cameron's leg.

"You...Time?" Lyla pointed her left hand at Half Sack who looked down at his watch.

"44 minutes." He responded.

"Is this the Doc?" Lyla questioned Jax who was at her side the baby in his arms. He just nodded as a response.

"Finally, okay listen Doc...not much time to bond over pussy power saving these fuckers." She smirked at Tara's clear shock at her off color joke. "He's been shot twice in the back of the leg. One was fleshy, no real damage, one nicked the back of the femoral vein and it started spraying when these idiots removed it. I've got the vein pinched but he's already been down for 45 minutes. This one has O neg blood, I did what I could but his heart rate is slowing down."

Tara nodded and immediately began unpacking her medical bag. She grabbed an open bottle of vodka off the bar, snapped gloves on and then poured the vodka all over both her hands before taking a drink. She pushed two clamps closer to Cameron's body as well as a suture kit. She made eye contact with Lyla before picking up a clamp and nodding her head.

"Alright...on three. One...two...three.." Lyla removed her hand on Tara's count and in one smooth move Tara clamped the spurting vein Lyla had been holding. Once the vein was secure Lyla stepped back and Tara took her place. Lyla went to leave the makeshift surgical space, but Tara stopped her.

"I need your hands. You clearly know what you're doing. I don't have anything to suction this blood out to clear my field of vision. I need you to help me control it with gauze until I can suture this vein."

"I really don't think I should. I'm only a third year nursing student, honestly it's a miracle he made it as long as he did." Lyla tried to reason with Tara.

"Don't care...you saved whoever this guy is. Now I need your fuckin' hands, I don't have time to argue and do both jobs, especially if he's already faded enough for you to hook him up to another person."

"Fine!" Lyla exclaimed as she threw her hands into the air flicking blood everywhere before rejoining Tara.

They'd worked on Cameron for almost an hour before they were completely done. While Tara had rushed through fixing the vein she had done everything else as meticulously as she normally would. When it was all said and done they both had blood smeared across their arms, Lyla was wearing quite a bit, and Tara had a smudge on her cheek. The whole room seemed to take a collective sigh of relief at the same time.

"Did you really try to use pussy power to explain saving this guy?" Tig wondered as he broke the silence.

Lyla had just thrown her head back and started hysterically laughing, which in turn woke the sleeping baby in Jax's arms.

"Fuck! He needs to eat. Got a shower in this frat house?" Lyla turned to Jax and asked.

Tara snapped her eyes to Lyla's retreating form as Jax guided her back towards the dorm rooms. She had no idea who this woman was but clearly Jax knew her well. Especially if he let her talk to him like that while he intimately guided her down the hallway his hand practically on her ass. Plus, that baby in his arms wasn't Abel, and Jax looked right at home holding him.

'So this is why he turned me down…' Tara realized.

Whoever this bitch was, she was the reason Jax didn't want a thing to do with Tara. She was the reason Kozik had shown up at her house tonight instead of Jax. Just what did she have that Tara didn't anyway? Plus, it seemed to Tara like she came with more baggage than anything, what with a baby and all. Although, maybe that was why Jax wanted her...an instant family for him and Abel. She also didn't seem to mind getting her hands dirty with club shit. With that in mind Lyla was actually a little intimidating.

"There it is Doll Face… You're starting to really realize it's done yeah?" Kozik whispered from where he'd snuck up next to her.

Tara refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her hurt, so she just straightened her back and turned to him.

"I need to stay tonight and monitor this guy. He isn't out of the woods yet. I need to pump him full of antibiotics too. Someone will have to go pick those up from the pharmacy tomorrow. They can also pick up home blood typing kits for everyone here. I'm gonna have to infuse someone else into him soon. Hopefully someone matches. I need to shower, and I need a new shirt." She listed out methodical steps for them and herself.

"Anything else Doc?" Kozik asked her sarcastically as he raised a brow in her direction.

"I wouldn't say no to a whiskey either." Tara deadpanned before making her way over to Bobby and unhooking him before asking him where she could shower and change.

As Kozik stood and watched her from across the room he'd admitted to himself that Tara had gotten hotter with age. She was still a snobby little bitch sometimes, but she also had a fire in her. As messed up as Jax had been when Tara had gone to Chicago, Kozik knew it had been the best choice. They wouldn't have worked out eventually anyway. Jax was too hot blooded for Tara, he had a tendency to get moody and introspective. Tara on the other hand was judgy and at times irrational, and she always wanted to plan her way through problems right away. Kozik had seen the volatility of their personalities explode a few times the year he prospected.

No, Jax definitely needed someone more like Lyla. She seemed calm even in the midst of being introduced to the club in such a shocking way. She hadn't freaked, or been upset by the fact that she was practically keeping a guy alive with her bare hands in an unsanitary man-cave. She'd just looked to Jax, and handled her shit. Now that they all knew she had a baby she made even more sense. Jax wasn't just looking for an ol' lady, he was looking for a mom for his son.

Tara on the other hand could be an asset. She clearly had come back to Charming because she thought it was safe, maybe that had something to do with Jax, or maybe it had something to do with the club. Either way she knew now Jax wasn't gonna be an option. Where that left her, Kozik wasn't sure yet. Tara needed someone more easy going than Jax anyway, she just didn't know it yet. She had a tendency to be too intense and she needed someone to soften her edges. The club would need to make her reason for staying more solid eventually too, especially now that she didn't need to be protected anymore. He wasn't sure if what he was thinking would fly, but he did know that maybe it was time to ask SAMCRO if they had room for one more at their table. Maybe, it was time for him to make the jump from Tacoma to Charming. The rest would work itself out eventually.

"The Doctor pussy is a bad idea Kozzy." Tig barked at him before smacking him on the back.

"Yeah? Well, when have you ever known me to make good choices brother?" Koz smirked before disappearing outside for a cigarette.


End file.
